Proseminar in
Educational Psychology
EPSY 500/PSYCH 550, Fall,
2011
Wed. 3:00-4:50, EPASW 2235
Instructor: Dr. Theresa
Thorkildsen
Office: ECSW 3549, Hours: Before class, and
by appointment
Phone: 996-8138 (office), e-mail: thork@uic.edu
http://tigger.uic.edu/~thork/fair/
Purpose
This
course offers an introduction to doctoral studies in Educational
Psychology. Students will explore the
nature, quality, and function of scholarship in the field as it aligns with the
expertise of program faculty. They will
also learn some of the norms and conventions associated with academic research
and begin the process of articulating their own research questions. Students will be encouraged to determine how
their areas of interest match those of faculty members, establish goals for
their doctoral program, and begin reading research in their respective
fields. Each week, students will be
asked to complete a practical activity designed to strengthen their involvement
in the doctoral program and in the field as a whole.
Readings
Prior
to each class, students will be given a collection of papers to read. Students will be required to read those
papers prior to coming to class and to be ready to discuss the content of
those papers. This syllabus will be
posted online and readings will be added across the semester. For some weeks, it may be beneficial to use
jigsaw methods to divide the readings and compare the ideas rather than to
expect each person to read all the selections.
Ideally, each week, students will also write something about what they
have read and use that to strengthen their participation in class
discussions. Below are a number of books
that students have found helpful or essential to their graduate studies and you
may want to purchase as many as you can afford this semester, adding others as
you see fit. Those with an * will be
beneficial to everyone, but other books are useful to individuals with
different levels of experience with academic research.
*American
Psychological Association. (2010). Publication
manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: APA.
Belcher,
W. L. (2009).
Writing your journal
article in twelve weeks: A guide to academic publishing success.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
*Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2003) The craft of research (2nd
ed.). Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago.
Echterling, L. G., Cowan, E.,
Evans, W. F., Staton, A. R., Viere,
G., McKee, J. E., Presbury, J., & Stewart, A. L.
(2007). Thriving!:
A manual for students in the helping professions. New York: Lahska Press Houghton Mifflin.
Graff,
G., & Birkenstein, C. (2010). They say, I say: The moves that matter in academic writing (2nd
ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Grimm,
L. G., & Yarnold, P. R. (Eds.). (1995). Reading and understanding multivariate
statistics. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Grimm,
L. G., & Yarnold, P. R. (Eds.). (2000). Reading and understanding more multivariate
statistics. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
*Krathwohl,
D. R., & Smith, N. L. (2005). How to
prepare a dissertation proposal: Suggestions for students in education and the
social and behavioral sciences. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse, University Press.
Lanham, R. (2000). Revising prose (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Allyn &
Bacon.
*Lovitts, B. E. (2007). Making the
implicit explicit: Creating performance expectations for the dissertation. Sterling,
VA: Stylus Publishing.
*Mertens,
D. M. (2010). Research and evaluation in education and psychology:
Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods (3rd ed). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Miller, J. E. (2005).
The Chicago guide to writing about
multivariate analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Nicol,
A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2003). Displaying your findings: A practical guide
for creating figures, posters, and presentations. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
Sternberg,
R. J. & Sternberg, K.
(2010). The psychologist's companion: A guide to
writing scientific papers for students and researchers. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
*University of
Illinois Graduate College Thesis Manual. Chicago,
IL: Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Chicago. https://grad.uic.edu/pdfs/ThesisManual_rev_07April2009.pdf
*Williams, J. M.
(2009). Style: The basics of clarity and
grace. New York: Pearson Education.
Assignments
and Ground Rules
This
class relies heavily on weekly discussions of the readings and thoughtful
reactions to the information that faculty members offer during class. The most
important assignment, therefore, is to attend each class and read each week's
assignments before coming to class. Everyone's absence is felt. Grades for the course are
satisfactory/unsatisfactory (pass/fail) and excessive absences will make it
impossible to participate in a satisfactory manner. We use this grading system to encourage
students to raise questions and think deeply about the program and their
involvement in it without worry that this will affect their overall grade point
average, but for obvious reasons, participation and attendance are essential.
Instead of tests, students will be asked to
participate in a variety of conversations with their advisors about the nature
of their graduate program. Students who
have projects underway will be encouraged to continue working on those projects
and find ways to obtain feedback from faculty who might be of assistance. By the end of the semester, students should
be able to outline a detailed agenda for their graduate studies, name more than
one faculty member who will be able to assist them in their agenda, and have a
clear sense of how their plans match the PhD degree requirements.
Accessibility
UIC
strives to ensure the accessibility of programs, classes, and services to
students with disabilities. Reasonable
accommodations can be arranged for students with various types of disabilities,
such as documented learning disabilities, vision or hearing impairments, and
emotional or physical disabilities. If
you need accommodations for this class, please let your instructor know your
needs and he/she will help you obtain the assistance you need.
Tentative
Schedule
|
Dates |
Topics |
|
Aug.
24th |
Designing a
CV—Where have you been? What information belongs on a CV? How are such
documents organized? Why it is important to start now? (Slides) |
|
Aug.
31st. |
Meet Elise Wilson and Veronica Manning Program
timelines—What are the program expectations and what are the major bench
marks? (Review of the Doctoral Student
Handbook) |
|
Sept.
7th |
Meet Terri Thorkildsen The nature and
function of scholarship—What do we mean by scholarship in the academy? (Shil's The Academic
Ethic) Introduction to
scholarship in Educational Psychology—How does our program fit within the
broader field? (Richardson's Stewards
of a Field, Stewards of an Enterprise) |
|
Sept.
14th |
Meet Marisha
Humphries Setting
personal research goals—How can you begin to imagine a program of research?
(Review of the Advising
Covenant) (Slides and Reflection
Activity 1 and Reflection Activity 2) |
|
Sept.
21st |
Meet Stacey Horn IRB/ethics
and the Belmont report—What are the training requirements and why are they
important for new students? (IRB's Training
101) |
|
Sept.
28th |
Meet Beth Pickard Virtual library
tour--Where will you find published research?
What are some of the quality control indicators available in the research
databases? |
|
Oct.
5th |
Meet George Karabatsos Reading and
understanding published research—What is the role of evidence in crafting
strong scholarship? How can you tell if you have read enough in your area of
interest? Why is reading essential to
success in research? |
|
Oct.
12th |
Meet Artin Goncu Defining a
researchable question—Why do students sometimes feel like their advisors are
always "shooting down" their good ideas? How can you determine if a question is
important enough? (Booth et al., The
Craft of Research) |
|
Oct. 19th |
Meet Carol Myford Writing
effectively—What is the difference between journalistic writing and academic
scholarship? (Graff & Berkenstein's They say, I say; APA's Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association) |
|
Oct
26th |
Developing a strong
network of colleagues—Why do researchers place so much emphasis on
teamwork? What is the peer review
process and why does it matter? (Web materials on mentoring and social
networks) |
|
Nov.
2nd |
Meet Kim Lawless Funding your
research---Why are grants important? |
|
Nov.
9th |
Meet Larry Grimm The importance of
conferences and professional organizations in academic life—Why do some professors
require that you attend at least one conference? When is it important to become involved in
professional research organizations? (Review
of conferences and professional organizations that are related to the field
of Educational Psychology) |
|
Nov.
16th |
Meet Ev Smith Possible selves and
how to get there—Where do our graduates go? (If graduates are available, we would love to have them serve as
panelists) |
|
Nov.
23rd |
Thanksgiving—No
Class |
|
Nov.
30th |
Meet Yue Yin Proposing research—What
is involved in building a research proposal and why should you have
experience before designing your dissertation? (Any one of the many books on what is involved in a dissertation
proposal) |
Resources
Aug. 24th Designing a Curriculum Vita
Aug. 31st Program Timelines
Doctoral Programs
Steering Committee (2010). Doctoral student handbook (pp. 31-41). Chicago, IL:
College of Education of the University of Illinois at Chicago. http://education.uic.edu/userfiles/file/Doctoral%20Handbook%20Fall%202007.pdf
Schulman,
L. S., Golde, C. M., Conklin Bueschel,
A., & Garabedian, K. J. (2006). Reclaiming
education's doctorates: A critique and a proposal. Educational Researcher, 35, 25-32.
Sept. 7th The
Nature and Function of Scholarship and Introduction to Scholarship in
Educational Psychology
Eisner, E. (1993). Forms of understanding and the future of educational research. Educational
Researcher, 22 (7), 5-11.
Richardson,
V. (2006).
Stewards of a field, stewards of an enterprise: The doctorate in
education. In C. M. Golde,
& G. E. Walker (Eds.), Envisioning
the future of doctoral education: Preparing stewards of the discipline Carnegie
essays on the doctorate (pp. 251-267). New York: Jossey
Bass.
Shils, E. (1983). The academic ethic: The report of a study
group of the international council on the future of the university.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Sept. 14th Setting Personal Research Goals
Doctoral Programs
Steering Committee (2009). Advising covenant.
Chicago, IL: College of Education of the University of Illinois at
Chicago. (Also pp. 5-8 of the Doctoral Student Handbook.)
Miller, A. (2009). Finish your dissertation once and for all: How to overcome
psychological barriers, get results, and move on with your life.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Sept. 21st IRB and Ethics in Research
Institutional
Review Board http://tigger.uic.edu/depts/ovcr/research/protocolreview/irb/index.shtml
Sept. 28th Using the UIC Library
Library
Research Guides http://researchguides.uic.edu/search.php?iid=402&pid=81321&c=0&gid=&search=Education
Oct. 5th Reading and Understanding Published Research
Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2003) The craft of research (2nd
ed.). Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago.
Mertens,
D. M. (2010).
Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity
with quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods (3rd ed). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Pros and cons of meta-analysis as a
thesis: https://email.rutgers.edu/pipermail/hrdiv_net/2007-November/002621.html
Oct. 12th Defining a Researchable Question
Graff, G., & Birkenstein, C. (2010). They say, I say: The moves that matter in academic writing (2nd
ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Oct. 19th Writing Effectively
APA Publications and Communications Board Working Group on
Journal Article Reporting Standards (2008).
Reporting standards for research in psychology: Why do we neet
them? what might they be? American Psychologist, 63, 839-851.
Sternberg,
R. J. & Sternberg, K.
(2010). The psychologist's companion: A guide to
writing scientific papers for students and researchers. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Advice on reviewing manuscripts: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/0102/prescol.html
Advice on reviewing manuscripts: http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4316057.aspx
Advice on reviewing manuscripts: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getarticle.cfm?id=2157
Contacting ETS to find their policy reports: http://www.ets.org/research/policy_research_reports
Finding ETS Research Report series (over
3,300 since 1948): http://search.ets.org/researcher/
Oct. 26th Developing a Strong Network of Colleagues
Developmental
mentoring activity
Program development:
Mentoring
Nov. 2nd Funding Your Research
Institute
of Educational Sciences
http://ies.ed.gov/
Ford
Foundation http://www.fordfoundation.org/
National
Science Foundation http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=8671&org=BCS&from=home
Spencer Foundation http://www.spencer.org/
Nov. 9th The Importance of Conferences and Professional Organizations
American
Educational Research Association http://www.aera.net/
American
Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/
Association
for Psychological Science http://www.psychologicalscience.org/
Society
for Research in Child Development http://www.srcd.org/
Society
for Research on Adolescence http://www.s-r-a.org/
Nov. 16th Possible Selves and How to Get There: Oh the Places
We Can Go
Basalla,
S., & Debelius, M. (2007). "So what are you going to do with that?" Finding careers
outside academia (Revised ed.). Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press.
Cahn, S. M. (2008). From student to scholar: A candid guide to becoming a professor.
New York: Columbia University Press.
Darley, J. M., Zanna,
M. P., Roediger, H. L. (Eds.). (2003). The compleat
academic: A career guide. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
Pressley, M. (2005). Oh, the places an
educational psychologist can go! … and how young
educational psychologists can prepare for the trip (apologies to Dr. Seuss). Educational Psychologist, 40, 137-153. doi: 10.1207/s15326985ep4003_1
Nov. 23rd THANKSGIVING—NO CLASS
Nov. 30th Proposing Research
Kilbourn, B. (2006). The qualitative doctoral dissertation proposal. Teachers College Record, 108, 529-576.
Lovitts, B. E. (2007). Making
the implicit explicit: Creating performance expectations for the dissertation. Sterling,
VA: Stylus Publishing.
Madsen, D. (1992). Successful dissertations and theses (2nd
ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.